Inductors have long been used as energy storage devices in non-isolated DC/DC converters. High current, thermally stable resistors also have been used concurrently for current sensing, but with an associated voltage drop and power loss decreasing the overall efficiency of the DC/DC converter. Increasingly, DC/DC converter manufacturers are being squeezed out of PC board real estate with the push for smaller, faster and more complex systems. With shrinking available space comes the need to reduce part count, but with increasing power demands and higher currents comes elevated operating temperatures. Thus, there would appear to be competing needs in the design of an inductor.
Combining the inductor with the current sense resistor into a single unit would provide this reduction in part count and reduce the power loss associated with the DCR of the inductor leaving only the power loss associated with the resistive element. While inductors can be designed with a DCR tolerance of ±15% or better, the current sensing abilities of its resistance still vary significantly due to the 3900 ppm/° C. Thermal Coefficient of Resistance (TCR) of the copper in the inductor winding. If the DCR of an inductor is used for the current sense function, this usually requires some form of compensating circuitry to maintain a stable current sense point defeating the component reduction goal. In addition, although the compensation circuitry may be in close proximity to the inductor, it is still external to the inductor and cannot respond quickly to the change in conductor heating as the current load through the inductor changes. Thus, there is a lag in the compensation circuitry's ability to accurately track the voltage drop across the inductor's winding introducing error into the current sense capability. To solve the above problem an inductor with a winding resistance having improved temperature stability is needed.